1923 to 1940

The publication house was established in 1923 by Karl Vötterle in the city of Augsburg. One of its initial publications was the "Finkensteiner Blätter" which was overseen by editor Walther Hensel. In 1927, the publishing house relocated to the city of Kassel.

Vötterle released the first sheet music (known as Liederblätter) at a time when the great composers of the Classical, Romantic and Modern eras were exclusively represented by traditional publishers in Leipzig (such as Edition Peters) and Mainz (Schott-Verlag). New trends arose, resulting in a growing demand for sheet music for the youth music movement (de: die Jugendmusikbewegug), recorder and organ pieces, and the revival of music by Heinrich Schütz and early musical works predating Johann Sebastian Bach. Focus shifted towards providing complete editions of famous composers such as Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert, making Bärenreiter a leading supplier of sheet music among publishers in the same field.

From the early 1900s through to the 21st century, Bärenreiter's publishing programme has been built upon converting these editions into sheet music suitable for practice and performance. The catalogue includes a wide range of classical music genres, including piano, chamber, symphonic, and operatic works, as well as vocal and choral pieces. In addition, the company publishes domestic and popular music, as well as unearthing new pieces in the realm of liturgical music. For instance, the Quempas 1930 (with a current circulation of 3 million copies) has been a cornerstone of the company's success. In 1932, a collaboration with Hugo Distler was initiated, and in 1933, the Working Group for House Music (de: Arbeitskreis für Hausmusik, later known as the International Working Group for Music (de: Internationaler Arbeitskreis für Musik) was established. This group organised the first Kassel Music Days or "Kasseler Musiktage" in the autumn of the same founding year. The company also launched the series The Heritage of German Music (de: Das Erbe deutscher Musik) in 1936.

Between 1929 and 1950, the publisher also commissioned the production of a unique series of recorders ranging from sopranino to large bass, as well as solo flutes in alto and soprano sizes, and even school flutes. The first models were built by Max Hüller. New models that followed from the year of 1936 were designed by Manfred Ruetz, built in cooperation with Max Hüller and Rudolf Otto. By 1945 the Hüller and Otto partnership dissolved and from 1950 Conrad Mollenhauer company, based in Fulda, had taken over instrument production. ^[3]

1940 to 1960

In 1944, due to the impending closure of the Kassel publishing house, Bärenreiter established itself in Basel, Switzerland. In 1945, the publishing house buildings in Kassel were destroyed by air raids. Despite this setback, the first volumes of Music in History and the Present (de: Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart) were published in 1949.

In 1950, Bärenreiter acquired Hinnenthal publishing house and began releasing the "Hortus Musicus" series featuring works from the Renaissance and Baroque eras. The following year, in 1952, Bärenreiter also took over Nagel's music publishing house in Celle.

Notably, 1954 saw the release of the first two volumes of the New Bach Edition and the commencement of work on the New Mozart Edition. In 1955, Alkor-Edition (formerly known as Brucknerverlag, founded in 1934) became part of Bärenreiter-Verlag. The publication of the first volume of the Hallische Handel Edition, the first volume of the Mozart Edition, and the updated edition of all of Heinrich Schütz's works were also accomplished. During this time, the publisher began collaborating with renowned Austrian-American composer Ernst Krenek.

In 1957, Bärenreiter acquired Gustav Bosse publishing house, followed by the founding of Bärenreiter New York in 1958. In order to make works from their publishing program accessible through recordings, the record company "Bärenreiter-Musicaphon" was established before 1960.

1960 to 1980

1980 to 2000

2000 to 2009

2010 to 2019

2020 to 2023